St. Tropez Wine Bar Visited 4/27/2018 4.5 Forks

St. Tropez Wine Bar  304 W 4th St., New York, NY 10014

All I can say is SJP.   I had dinner here a few weeks ago and sitting behind me was Sarah Jessica Parker with some friends just having a casual dinner. This is why I love NYC.  I gotta say this is probably one of my better celebrity sightings in a while and in true NYC style, no gave a f*ck she was there (ok, except maybe me and Holly).  But I can see why she came here.  I know she lives in the West Village and this place is THE quintessential adorable West Village restaurant/bar.  It's cozy but not cramped feeling and it's just an all around relaxing place to spend some time.  It's primarily a French wine bar but they've also got a menu of yummy French dishes that you can easily make into a full dinner. 

The only downside is that there isn't really a happy hour but you get over that quickly.  Holly and I got there early (around 6ish on a Friday) and by the time we left at 9:30, there was definitely a wait.  The wine list is obviously French and they have a TON of amazing options - so brush up on your French wines!  The food menu also has a lot of fantastic items on the menu and they are all very reasonably priced with nothing more than $18.  I can't remember exactly what we had but I remember the beef tartare ($16), grilled shrimp ($12), beef stew ($18) and a cheese plate ($13).   The beef tartare was tasty but different than some of the other ones I've had since this one had mayo in it but I love mayo, so that didn't gross me out at all.  The beef stew was hearty and comforting but not overly heavy (in case anyone was curious this was the dish SJP had).  The chunks of beef were tender and perfectly executed in a red wine sauce.

I walked out of this meal so surprised by it because I randomly read about it on a food blog but it hasn't really gotten much buzz or press so I was expecting it to be ok but not great.  Maybe it's a good thing that it hasn't been written about in a bunch of places to keep the crowds away.  Although judging by the wait when we left, word has already gotten out - at least with the famous locals.  While I don't live in the hood, this is the kind of place I want to make as one of my go-to spots in the city.  Total bill:  $108/pp with tax, tip and lots of wine

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Volare Restaurant Visited 2/24/2018 4.5 Forks

Volare Restaurant  147 W 4th St, New York, NY 10012

This has got to be one of the most surprising restaurant discoveries for me in a while and I can't take any credit for it.  Will has been on a red sauce tear of NYC for a while and since this place is basically 5 mins from his and Aarti's apt, it's now become his version of Cheers - where everybody knows his name. In my almost 18 yrs of living in NYC, I have never seen this place before and for good reason.  The outside is so unassuming that it's very easy to walk right past it without even blinking an eye.  It's smack in the middle of the West Village but it reminds me more of a place that belongs in Williamsburg like Bamonte's (the old Italian part).  

It's incredibly old school and everyone in there looks like a regular.  It was jammed packed when we went on a Saturday night at 6:30pm.  The menu is a typical old school red sauce joint with your anti-pasti, insalate, pasta, pesce, and carne.  It's nothing fancy but everything is comfy and spot on.  We ordered a TON of food and I can't remember all of it, but we got several kinds of pastas (meat and veggie friendly kinds), caprese salad, and an ossobuco which has kind of become this thing that Will and I get when we do these types of over the top Italian meals.  The pasta dishes were super hearty and delicious.  What was great about them was that when you got to the bottom of the dishes you didn't see a big pile of oil - so it made me feel like we were kind of eating healthily?  The food feels homemade and very much like you're eating in someone's home.  The ossobuco (veal shank) was amazing - it fell right off the bone and I would highly recommend mixing each bite with the risotto.  I often feel incredibly guilty for eating veal but sometimes it's just so damn delicious.  At the end of the meal, they wheel over dessert and then gave us some after dinner drinks and that literally put me over the edge. 

The waiters there was so incredibly friendly and accommodating.  We kind of went off script and ordered things that were not really on the menu (like a penne vodka) but was easy enough to make in a place like this.  I'm not sure if it was because Will was a regular there but the wine pours were gigantic.  1 glass was pretty much like 3 glasses.  We left the meal feeling incredibly excited and ready to conquer our trip to Italy in the fall.  If you're looking for a really solid place that's no fuss and right in the heart of the Village, definitely put this on your list of places to visit.  Tell them Will sent you!  Total bill:  $80/pp with tax, tip and drinks

Photo Credit:  Yelp  

Raviolo Visited 2/24/2018 2.5 Forks

Raviolo  57 7th Ave S, New York, NY 10014

Sorry, I realize it's been a while since I've updated the blog!  Lots of things going on but the good thing about taking a long break between visiting a restaurant and updating the blog is that I have a lot of time to really think about my meal.  Raviolo was the February stop on the monthly rabbit habit date Anuja, Amy and I have (visiting veggie/seafood friendly restaurants).  It seemed like a super cute idea - pasta tapas concept and most of it in a ravioli format.  My rating is probably a bit harsh but upon further reflection, it just wasn't a meal I really enjoyed or would go back to unfortunately. 

When I walked in, it reeked of cleaning fluid.  I realize they had just cleaned off the table which is good thing but the odor was quite strong and off putting.  The staff was super nice and explained the menu - it was a laminated menu where you use a dry erase marker to indicate your order.  As I mentioned, it's mostly small (2-4 pieces) of ravioli dishes, buns, bun-boloni and then main entrees of pasta where you can also mix and match.  We started with 2 orders of the cocktail gamberi ($12) and another veggie type of ravioli (it's escaping my mind now which one it was - the one big downside of writing a review a month later), the cacio e pepe bun-boloni ($10) and I got the white carbonara ($15) pasta entree and Amy and Anuja split the pasta combo of green pesto and the black vongole ($18).  We also got their version of an aperol spritz which was the total highlight of the meal because it came with these fun lit up ice cubes. 

When I hear the word "ravioli" I usually envision a square or circular pasta with a pocket sealed with filling.  So when I thought we were getting a shrimp ravioli I pictured a ravioli filled with shrimp in it.  I guess I should have read the description more closely because it did say it was a "cocktail" and it was essentially a giant piece of shrimp cocktail with pasta dough wrapped around the outside.  It made no sense and while the shrimp itself was tasty the pasta was too doughy and too chewy.  The other ravioli dish we got was a traditional ravioli dish and it was fine but since it's not served in any sauce or broth, it was kind of meh.  The bun-boloni was an Asian style white steamed bun shoved with cacio e pepe, pecorino cheese and black pepper.  To me, the only thing you should ever put into between two steam buns is pork belly.  The bun was dry and the concept of the dish was a miss for me.

As for the main pasta dishes, they were fine but not mind blowing.  My carbonara was served with penne pasta and topped with guanicale, ricotta, fried onions and an egg yolk.  As with any carbonara dish, it was very heavy and since it had meat in it, I was the only one eating it and I was definitely uncomfortably full at the end.  I'm not a huge fan of carbonara on penne, I prefer it with a bucatini or other long noodle type pasta.  As for the pasta itself, while I don't think it came from a box, it didn't really taste like some old grandma was hand making it in the back either.  It tasted like a dish I could have made at home.  I didn't try the other pasta combo but the comment Amy and Anuja made was that they wished that there was a divider or something so that the two pastas didn't end up mixing together.  At one point the pesto and black spaghetti were all mixing around together and that made it a bit unappetizing.

While the concept of this place is cute, the execution of it needs to be tightened up.  With so many wonderful and delicious Italian places in the city, it's kind of hard to justify paying $50 for this kind of meal when I know I can spend a little bit more but get a much more authentic experience elsewhere.  Total bill: $50/pp with tax and tip

Photo Credit:  Yelp

La Contenta Oeste Visited 2/11/2018 3.5 Forks

La Contenta Oeste 78 W 11th St., New York, NY 10011

It's a rare occasion these days to get most of my B-school friends together at once but when we do it's always fun and it always involves lots of drinks.  So it was no different when Jenn was in town and we decided to have a nice long boozy brunch.  The best kind of boozy brunch usually involves margaritas so La Contenta Oeste was a great choice. 

As expected the menu here is Mexican, so the brunch menu had your usual line up of breakfast burritos, breakfast tacos,  huevos rancheros, and chilaquiles.  Since I knew we were going to drink up, I went with a hearty steak and eggs ($18) option and we got several guacamoles ($13) for the table.  Not to sound like an old person but when did guacamole become so expensive?  It's just smashed up avocado with some pico de gallo but it feels wrong to not order it when you're in a Mexican restaurant.  Of course on top of all our meals, we got lots and lots of margaritas.

The food came out relatively quickly and everything tasted just fine.  There was nothing particularly creative or mind blowing about the food but it was satisfying.  The steak was a nicely cooked medium rare hanger steak and the eggs were fried - they could have been a bit more runny with the yolk but there is nothing like a really good steak and eggs dish in the morning to coat your stomach.  This one was particular hearty because it came with a side of guacamole and chilaquiles too - it's almost like you are getting 2 dishes in one. 

We ended up staying for a while because we kept ordering drinks.  While our waiter was super sweet and nice, he seemed a bit overwhelmed and forgot some orders or mixed things up.  The margaritas were ok, some of the other cocktails that we got were overly sweet and we had to tell the bartender to make it less so the next time.  This is the real reason why I'm giving this place less than 4 forks.  It's a perfectly fine girls brunch spot and I would come back but maybe with a smaller group.  I will say for the amount we ate and drank the total bill was very reasonable.  Total bill:  $52/pp with tax, tip and lots of drinks

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Dante Visited 2/10/2018 4.5 Forks

Dante  79-81 Macdougal St., New York, NY 10012

I had been to the other Dante at Genuine in Little Italy and loved it but after visiting the original West Village location, I'm definitely more in love with this even place if it is way louder.  My friend Dan was in town and since we both move negronis, there is no other place I would take someone to enjoy a wide variety of negroni options than Dante.  The only downside to this location is that they don't have the self serve negroni fountain like the one in Little Italy does. But regardless, they have the same line up of fantastic cocktails, and they have happy hour from 3-6pm, so I would definitely get there as early as possible or just make a reservation.  

It was completely jammed when we got there at 6:30pm but it's a super fun and lively atmosphere.  After having several negronis, it was that time where we either needed to eat or be extremely drunk.  So we did the adult thing and ordered food.  Even though they are mostly known for their cocktails and bar vibe, they actually have a great menu that's much more sophisticated than just bar food.  It's mostly Italian food - yhey have flatbreads, homemade pastas, secondi dishes and great sides.  The problem when you're 3 drinks deep is that you want to order everything on the menu but we refrained and started with the octopus appetizer ($13), orecchiette ($19) and the chicken parm ($23).  

The octopus was cut up into small pieces and served on hummus and topped with radish, chive and chili flakes. It was a nice light dish but the octopus was cut up a bit too much for me that it was hard to tell what it was.  I prefer my octopus to be in one long piece so that you can really chew on it.  It was an interesting pairing with the hummus and not one that I would have thought of before.  The orecchiette pasta was a nice sized pasta dish and amazing.  It was served with fennel, pork sausage, broccoli rabe and covered in parmesan cheese and chili flakes.  It was hearty, comforting and just cheesey deliciousness.  I was actually pretty full with this dish but then out came the chicken parm.  It also really hit the mark - it was served with tuscan kale and provolone cheese and also really hearty.  It was sauced right and the chicken moist - I loved everything about it.  It was the right amount of food for the occasion and it was all surprisingly delicious.   It's not that I expected the food to be bad but usually at a cocktail bar, I expect the food to be mediocre at best.  I would totally come here for the food on it's own with the extra fabulous bonus that the cocktails and negronis are pretty amazing too.   Total bill:  $78/pp with tax, tip and lots of drinks

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Banter Visited 1/13/2018 4.5 Forks

Banter  169 Sullivan St., New York, NY 10012

It seems like the hot trend these days are these cute Australian breakfast cafes.  There was Two Hands, Bluestone Lane and now there is Banter.  Although when I was in Australia, I didn't remember their breakfast being particularly memorable - in fact, none of the actual food there was memorable.  But who isn't a sucker for a cute Australian accent?  I met up with Anuja and Amy for our first Rabbit Habit of 2018 on a freezing Saturday and while almost every other restaurant in the Village was empty because of how cold it was, there was a line out the door at Banter.  In fact it was a 45 mins wait!  Luckily they had a covered place to wait but it's pretty much mayhem with all the other people waiting in the same area.  Finally after almost an hour,  we were seated and sadly it was right next to the bathroom.  Ugh.  Ordinarily I would have said something but it was so crowded and almost 2pm that we just sucked it up. 

The menu is full of instagram worthy dishes from avocado toast, chia pudding bowls, and beautiful salads.  We were all starving so we started with the sweet potato fries ($7) and the banana bread ($5) to start.  I got the golden folded eggs with sour dough toast ($16), Anuja got the avocado toast ($12) and Amy got the mushroom toast ($12).   The sweet potato fries came out quickly and this dish in it of itself is worth 4.5 forks.  They were so crispy and delicious and served with a large heaping of spicy mayo that it took a lot of self control for me to not eat the entire thing.  I'm usually weary of sweet potato fries because its very easy for them to be soggy but this one was perfect.  Be aware that it's a huge side order, so it's definitely worth sharing with lots of people.  We thought the banana bread would be a small slice since it was $5 and it was actually a huge thick cut served warm with sweet butter.  It was also fantastic.  

The components of my entree weren't anything special but they all worked really well together.  I actually commented to Amy and Anuja that I could easily make this dish at home as it was just scrambled eggs, smashed avocado, peas, slices of proscuitto, and a kale salad.  But food always tastes better when someone else makes it for you and this was the case here.  It needed a bit more salt on everything but overall it tasted fresh, healthy and it was super filling.  The sourdough bread was nice and soft and paired well with the avocado - it was a bit annoying to pay extra for bread but with so much other food on the plate I actually think that if I were to get this dish again (which I totally would), I wouldn't order it because you don't really need it.

Overall, I really loved this place but there are a few annoying things to keep in mind before you go:  as one would expect in a place that's got all this IG worthy food, the clientele is kind of annoying (it kind of felt like we were in Murray Hill if you catch my drift), the wait is long and they don't take reservation for brunch and most of the food could have used a pinch more salt.  BUT don't let those things stop you from going and none of them were truly deal breakers for me.  Plus they had fantastic coffee options and the portions are huge compared to the price, which is a nice change of pace in NYC.  Hopefully this craze will die down a bit and it can be more of a relaxing experience going forward.  Total bill:  $32/pp with tax, tip and yummy coffee drinks

Photo Credit:  Yelp

JeJu Noodle Bar Visited 10/11/2017 3.5 Forks

JeJu Noodle Bar   679 Greenwich St, New York, NY 10014

JeJu has been getting a ton of press lately mostly because the chef is a Per Se and Chef's Table at Brooklyn Fare alum.  Plus they been touting that they are one of the few Korean style ramen places in the city.   I hadn't really hard of Korean style ramen before but I was eager to give it a shot on a gross rainy day with Borami. 

My first impression of the place was that it was very sparely designed.  It was kind of empty and soul-less feeling but I will say that the bar area was beautiful.  The menu itself is also very sparse - there are only 3 types of ramen, none of which are vegetarian but one is fish based.  There were more appetizers but the only one that was really calling our names of the ssam bun ($9), which at this point is kind of a must have for any ramen shop.  Borami and I split the 2 non-fish based ramens:  the Gochu ramen ($16) and the So-Ramyun ($17.50) and we both got an extra egg ($2).  When the hell did ramen start to creep into the $20 range?!?  The ssam bun was good but what irritated me was that they didn't give us extra plates so we had to hover one this one small dish.  I give them props for trying something different with this bun by adding corn and jalapeno but I still much prefer the Ippudo one instead.  Why fuck with the traditional version when it's so delicious?  Next came the ramen bowls and the portions were fairly big.  The gochu ramen is a spicy pork broth and probably closer to a traditional ramen version.  It came with pork belly, kimchi, and charred scallion.  It was ok - nothing about it really blew my mind away.  Like many ramen dishes it was salty AF.  I didn't really realize it until Borami mentioned that she was craving a cold beer and she was right, it hit the spot.  The so-ramyun came in a veal broth instead of a pork broth but to be honest, it didn't taste all that different from the other ramen.  Both were good but not anything that I felt warranted so much buzz.

By the time we left, it was pretty crowded so definitely make a reservation unless you wanted to eat at 6pm like we did.   There are a ton of ramen places in the city and while this place wasn't the worst, it certainly wasn't the best either.   Total bill:  $38/pp with tax and tip

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Palma Visited 10/6/2017 4 Forks

Palma 8 Cornelia St., New York, NY 10014

I've been in NYC for quite a while now and have spent countless hours in the Village yet somehow had never crossed paths with this adorable quaint Italian place right on Cornelia Street.  Holly had mentioned how it had one of the most beautiful back patios in all of NYC, so of course I had to check it out.  We tried to get a reservation on Opentable but they did't have anything available on a Friday night but we walked in around 7pm and they were able to seat us, just not outside, which was fine. The inside is a bit cramped but with all the pretty flowers and open windows (it was almost 80 degrees in October), it felt welcoming and airy. 

The menu leans towards more traditional Italian but it's not old school red sauce type.  The menu itself is flowery and pretty like the restaurant and the waiter was very kind and walked us through a few things on the menu as well as the long list of great sounding specials.  We started with the tuna tartare ($21) and the burrata special for appetizers and then we opted to split two different pastas for our entrees - we got the pappardelle ($26) and the fettuccine ai funghi ($26).  We were a bit hesitant on the fettuccine because it was served with gluten free pasta and since neither of us had a gluten allergy we weren't sure if we really needed to go that route but the waiter convinced us that it was just as good but if we really wanted to we could switch it out with regular pasta.  We decided to take his word and see how it goes. 

The tuna tartare appetizer was excellent.  It was a huge serving of chopped up fresh yellowfin tuna with capers and avocado.  It was simple and so perfectly executed that I didn't want to really share the dish.  Alas, I didn't really feel the same way about the burrata.  Usually I am a huge fan of burrata and I generally feel that it's a hard dish to get wrong.  But this one was served with sautéed leeks and the flavor combination just didn't work for me.  The burrata could have also been a bit saltier also but luckily Holly really likes leeks so it all kind of worked out between the two of us. 

As for the pastas, they were both great too but who would have thought the gluten free pasta would have been the winner of the night?  I am a huge fan of pappardelle pasta because of the thick ribbon shape and it usually is served in a red sauce and this one was no exception.  It came with slow roasted lamb, olives, rosemary and pecorino.  It was a solid dish but honestly tasted like any other really good pappardelle dish in NYC.  Maybe it was because we had low expectations with the fettuccine that we liked it more but you really couldn't tell the difference between that pasta and a gluten filed pasta.  It was served with wild mushroom and black truffle pate, so it was a bit on the heavy side but it was really hearty dish and you really didn't feel like you were missing out on anything.  This isn't to say that I am on the gluten-free bandwagon, but I was definitely a fan of this dish.  The only miss of the evening was that we had to flag down the waiter a few times to get parmesan for the pasta - usually they come right when they serve the pasta and ask if you want any cheese to go with it (and the answer should always be yes) but this time they didn't which was a bit frustrating.

Even though we couldn't get a seat outside, I had to check it out and it was indeed a very lovely patio.  It had gorgeous lush greenery, lots of sun coming in, and adorable small twinkling lights.  I can see it being the perfect place for a romantic outing or special occasion.  

Overall, it was a lovely surprise and oasis smack in the middle of the busy Village.  You definitely feel transported away from the hustle and bustle of the city.  The food is good but what you're really coming here for the cozy and gorgeous atmosphere.  Total bill:  $98/pp with tax, tip and drinks

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Decoy Visited 8/13/2017 4 Forks

Decoy  529 Hudson St., New York, NY 10014

I've always loved Peking Duck but it's definitely not something you eat everyday.  I've only always had it in traditional Chinese restaurants but when I saw pictures of the whole duck prixe fixe situation at Decoy, I felt like I had to try it out.  Decoy is part of the Red Farm empire and is located downstairs in a small basement space.  You must make a reservation in advance if you want to guarantee yourself a whole duck but you can roll in and try your luck if you want (especially if you want to eat things besides duck).

With the whole duck prixe fixe, you get your choice of an assortment of appetizers, sides and another main course - for $69/pp.  For our assortment of extras,  we got the shrimp and snow pea dumplings, oxtail dumplings, sautéed snow peas, vegetable fried rice, and the sautéed dice lamb.  Yes, all of that food along with an entire whole duck - obviously you'll be taking a lot of food home afterwards.  The dumplings were great - steamed and fresh although the oxtail one was a bit heavy for me.  We got the snow peas because we felt like we needed a green and as usual, it was fantastic.  Like most greens in a Chinese restaurant, it's got a ton of garlic and oil which makes it delicious.  The fried rice was a nice carb supplement - it wasn't super greasy like the kind of fried rice you would get in take out joint but in the end it is just a basic rice dish.  The star of the show is obviously the duck which comes with 10 pancakes and 3 different sauces.  Before you get into the duck, you are served a shot of duck consomme to get you primed for the whole experience.  The skin was perfectly crispy and the meat was juicy with the right amount of fat on it - combined with the scallion and sauces it's a heavenly bite.  There really is nothing like a perfect Peking Duck bite wrapped in a thin pancake.  Then after all this food, they served the lamb dish.  It was complete overkill but we had to try it.  It was served with Chinese broccoli and pickled shallots and I was kind of expecting it to be like a spicy cumin lamb dish but it wasn't really like it at all.  It didn't have the heat or spice level to it but combined with a bite of fried rice and snow peas, it was pretty damn tasty too.

Despite our best efforts, we couldn't finish all the food.  The wait staff was nice enough to split all the food equally into take home bags for us and it made for a decent lunch the next day - the lamb was better than the duck since the crispiness of the skin doesn't hold up at all overnight.  Overall, it was a great experience and the amount of food is crazy.  While I really enjoyed the quality and taste of all the food, I wished they offered a prixe fixe that was smaller and cheaper.  Let's be honest, you can get a whole duck in Chinatown for half the price and it'll be just as good.  If you order a la carte, it's way more expensive ($85 for just the duck and main dishes are $32+) so technically you are getting a great deal - it's just unnecessary.  If they offered a prixe fixe "light" version,  I could definitely see myself coming here more but at the current price point, I probably won't come back often unless someone is visiting from out of town because it is quite the experience.  Total bill with lots of wine:  $133/pp with tax and tip

4 Charles Prime Rib Visited 7/6/2017 5 Forks

4 Charles Prime Rib  4 Charles St., New York, NY 10014

Yes,  this place lives up to all the hype.  Do yourself a favor - stay up an until midnight and log on to Resy 30 days out to snag a reservation at one of the 10 tables there.  If you try to make a reservation during normal human hours, the only things left are the ones after 11pm and if you're like me, I just can't be dining that late anymore, so I opted for the 5:15pm reservation.

Everything about this place reeks of old school dining.  It's located on Charles Street (duh) in a townhouse and has a speak-easy feel as it is pretty tucked away and hard to find.  Once you enter, it's like being transported to something of the Godfather era - it's dark, leathery and the waitstaff are all impeccably dressed. As expected the clientele veers towards the douchy banker bros but hey, I can't fault them at all for enjoying a good piece of meat.

This place comes for the same team as perennial meat favorites, Au Cheval in Chicago.  The menu here is a bit more expanded with a raw bar, chicken, pasta, side dishes and most importantly prime rib.  They also have a fantastic cocktail/wine list with some seriously outstanding old fashion cocktails - they're huge and viciously strong.  Vince is my go-to overeater partner and we obviously couldn't help ourselves when we were here.  We started with the shrimp cocktail ($21) because the Alaskan crab legs were offensively priced at $75/lb and got the prime rib Chicago cut ($66), cheeseburger with farm egg ($19 for the burger + $2.50 for the egg), mashed potato side ($13) and the creamed spinach side ($13).  And yes, it was just the two of us eating dinner.  The waiter had told us that there are a french dip special and don't think that we didn't seriously consider throwing that in the mix too but we exercised some mild form of self-control.

The shrimp cocktail came out first with 6 large shrimp served with cocktail sauce and dijonnaise sauce.  They were plumb and crisp with the right texture to it.  The cocktail sauce was served with horseradish on top of it which made it even more delicious.  It was an excellent start to the meal. Everything else came out fast and furious right after.  The prime rib was 16 oz of pink rare heaven - it was pre-sliced but you still had to cut them into smaller bite sized pieces and it was so tender that you could have cut through it with a dull butter knife.  It was one of the juiciest pieces of meat I've had in a really long time.  They only later brought out the au jus sauce to go with it, which only made it even more amazing but the first couple of "naked" bites were just as good.   But what's even better than the au jus was the horseradish cream - there's just something about rare meat and horseradish that's so perfect.  Just when you think you've had your fill of meat, they roll out the cheeseburger.  This is not just any cheeseburger but a double decker with a runny egg - many people opt to get bacon on top of it too but we decided it was just too much.  It's a fantastic heart attack inducing burger with pickles, chopped red onion and a mayo like sauce.  I'm glad we split it so that we could try a bunch of other dishes here but lots of people were totally just making the burger their main dish, which I can understand.  The super runny egg was just the cherry on top.  A runny egg makes everything better. On top of everything else the sides were not to be forgotten.  The mashed potatoes came with probably 2 tons of butter in it but also it was made with roasted garlic and chicken jus.  AMAZING.  The creamed spinach was also great but it was more along the lines of a standard creamed spinach but it's one of those dishes that I feel like you have to get with meat.

At this point, you'd think we would be comatose and ready to leave but no.  We ordered dessert too because we're fat f*cks.  We got the chocolate cream pie ($18) which for even a non-chocolate lover like me was simply fantastic - it was pretty much chocolate pudding in an oreo crust with a huge dollop of creme fraiche on top.  My heart was pretty much broken when we couldn't finish it and I had to watch half of it go to waste.

At this point, it was only 7pm but it felt like midnight.  We walked out definitely feeling like we had been hit by a mack truck food wise - I was honestly a tad uncomfortable by how much we ate and I had only had a salad earlier in the day.

I've read a few reviews of people gripping about how annoying the reservation system is (I get it, it's annoying) and it is quite pricey (although no more than many other high end restaurants in NYC) but really if you enjoy meat, this is a place you absolutely need to experience.  Just do it - you won't regret and even if you do, who the hell cares? Total bill: Unknown since I didn't pay but I'm guessing somewhere in the ballpark of $375 for 2 with tax/tip/drinks

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Perry Street Visited 6/25/2017 4.5 Forks

Perry Street  176 Perry St., New York, NY 10014

Years ago, I worked on a cool project at work that allowed me to meet Cedric Vongerichten, son of the famous Jean George.  At the time, he was the chef de cuisine at Perry Street (and still is) and he was one of the nicest, sweetest people ever.  You would think that someone of his background would be a bit up on himself but he was very quiet and humble.  I had filed away in my head that I should visit Perry Street at some point, but there just wasn't ever the right time for it.  It's definitely not your everyday dinner kind of place - in fact, it's the type of place I generally steer away from because it's got this air of hoity toity-ness to it (the average age of the diners there seemed like it was about 65 yrs old).  But Lav was kind enough to book us a reservation for a belated birthday dinner and I'm so glad she did. 

One note to those reading this, if you are going to dine at Perry Street, DO NOT go on the day of the Pride Parade.  It was a nightmare to get there with all the streets being closed and it was mayhem everywhere but it was worth the walk.  The decor is clean, white and very modern but it's not overly pretentious.  The waitstaff was nice and informative but not too pushy either.  The menu was high end but not stuffy - in fact, everything sounded great.  If you haven't gotten my drift already, its the kind of place where it just pushes the edge but doesn't go overboard. 

We started with the heirloom tomato salad ($16) and crispy artichokes ($20) and I got the duck entree ($36) while Lav got the sweet pea soup ($15) and market peaches ($16) as her entrees.  It's been a while since I've had an heirloom tomato salad but when they are ripe and in season there really is nothing better in the world.  This one was completely on point - juicy, ripe, sweet and plain heavenly. It was served with a sesame dressing, avocado and basil-serrano puree.  It was so simple yet so god damn delicious.  I could have had 10 of those for dinner and been super happy with my meal. The crispy artichokes were also fantastic - they were the meatier parts of the artichoke and not greasy at all.  It came with fava beans, roasted garlic and manchego cheese which was an interesting but excellent combination.  So far everything during the meal was really spot on.  

I got the duck because it's not something I would ordinarily make at home and when done right, it is mind blowing.  That was exactly the case here.  It was 2 good size pieces of duck breast cooked to perfection - I mean seriously, incredibly tender and melted in your mouth.  It was served with bok choy, chanterelle mushrooms and an incredible herbal duck jus.  It was really one of the best duck dishes I've had in a really long time.  Lav mentioned that her spring pea soup was fantastic while the market peaches were good but not on par with the rest of the dishes at dinner. 

Of course we saved room for dessert and opted for the molten chocolate cake immediately but then hemmed and hawed over our 2nd choice...it was a toss up between the blueberry pie or strawberry pavlova.  The waitress highly recommended the blueberry pie so we went for it.  I was so glad we did because it was one of the best desserts I've had in a while.  I'm normally not a blueberry person but I've definitely come around to it in the last few years and I would encourage anyone who is on the fence about blueberries to give this one a try.  It's the perfect combination of fruit and crust and it's not overly sweet or gooey like some blueberry desserts.  It's fresh blueberries in as natural of a state as you can get in a pie form.  Delicious. 

My visit here is definitely been 4 years too late and I wished I had come here sooner.  It's much more of a special occasion restaurant but there's always a reason to celebrate in New York.  I heard that Cedric will be opening up a new restaurant this year and it's not clear if he'll still be at the helm here so I'd definitely recommend a visit here sooner rather than later.  Total bill:  Unclear as it was paid for as a generous birthday gift!

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Fedora Visited 6/5/2017 4 Forks

Fedora  239 W 4th St., New York, NY 10014

Fedora belongs a group of other really solid West Village restaurants such as Perla, Jeffrey's Grocery, and Joseph Leonard.  They're all small, cozy, and excellent restaurants - so it's hard to go wrong with any of these choices.  Previous to this, I had been to all of them except for Fedora, so I figured it was time to complete the list.  

Fedora is located in the basement of a rowhouse in the middle of the Village but it's not as hard to find as it sounds.  VA and I were there on a random Monday night and when we first got there, it was pretty empty but as the night went on, it filled up quickly but then again, it's quite small so it's not hard for it to be packed in here.  The menu leans towards Modern American with roast chicken, skirt steak and sea bream as the main entrees.  Either we were really hungry or everything sounded amazing to us - we totally over ordered and would have ordered more if our waitress hadn't stopped us half way through.  We started with a dozen oysters ($3/each), deviled egg ($7), spring pea salad ($16), ricotta gnocchi ($24), roasted chicken ($32), and miso eggplant ($10).  The prices are definitely on the high side - especially for the 1 deviled egg we split and the roasted chicken but the quality of all the food was excellent, so I'm wiling to overlook it in this instance.

The oysters were a mix of 2 different kinds that I can't remember but they were super clean and fantastic.  They were shucked to perfection - not a single shell in sight.  The deviled egg was literally 1 egg for $7 but I guess it did have trout roe on top of it and well, it was quite the beautiful sight (and delicious).  I'm glad I had it but I probably wouldn't order it again given how much I like a basic deviled egg without the roe on it.  The spring pea salad was light and refreshing - despite having a fried oyster on top of it!  Then came the ricotta gnocchi, roasted chicken and eggplant and it was quite clear at this point that we were in way over our heads.  If I had to cut one dish out, it would have been the gnocchi - I've always been a bit indifferent about gnocchi and this one was no exception.  It was good especially with the braised lamb and english peas but gnocchi just never wows me.  The chicken on the other hand was amazing.  I know it sounds lame to rave about chicken when it's pretty easy to prepare at home but this one was juicy and came with foie gras stuffing and fava beans (be still my clogged heart).  There wasn't a single piece that wasn't tender and soaking in au jus.  It was so much chicken that we couldn't finish it all and that made me incredibly sad to leave half of it behind.  The miso eggplant was a side dish and it was also done well - not too mushy and served with toasted sesame - but we probably could have done without them too just from a stomach space issue.

Overall, it was a great place to catch up with an old friend.  It's intimate but not too loud (as many small places can be) and has a really solid line up for food and drinks.  The staff was super friendly and accommodating when we had to move our reservation a few times.  Gabriel Stulman seems to have built a really strong foothold in the West Village of neighborhood favorites.  While the prices are a bit expensive here, I would put this place on your Village rotation of places that don't disappoint.  Total bill:  $110/pp with tax, tip and drinks

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Sushi Katsuei Visited 6/2/2017 4 Forks

Sushi Katsuei  357 6th Ave., New York, NY 10014

I could have sworn that I had been to the Park Slope location  but when I looked back at my blog, I didn't see it, so I guess I'm reviewing it now.  Sushi Katsuei is known around various food blogs for having one of the more affordable high quality omakases in town.  So when they opened a West Village location, I was eager to try it out. 

To be totally honest, I stumbled in here after inhaling two scotch cocktails and then proceeded to have a sake and beer here, so the nigh is a wee bit fuzzy.  Even though it's located in the West Village, you could very easily walk right past it.  It's pretty non descript on the outside and frankly on the inside too.  It's pretty austere and traditional - much like their menu.  It leans towards the traditional/authentic side - so no giant rolls with spicy mayo on it.  It's all clean and simple servings.  The list of a la carte sushi and sashimi is actually quite impressive and if you know your sushi, you can really have a field day here - uni, botan shrimp, orange clam, and a variety of mackerel selections.  While Holly and I didn't get the omakase, we did try a bunch of other things here.  We started with some tempura (if memory serves me correctly it was shrimp and kabocha) and then split the sushi combination ($30), the fatty tuna scallion roll ($11), and spicy scallop roll ($7.5). There might have been another roll but it's escaping my mind now - damn sake.  The tempura was lovely - not greasy or soggy. 

The sushi combination had a nice variety of high quality sushi.  There was the usual suspects of tuna, salmon, yellowtail, scallop, red snapper (I think), salmon roe sushi and a plain tuna roll.  Fresh, simple and clean tasting with the right amount of rice.  The spicy scallop was the night's overall winner but I also really enjoyed the fatty tuna roll, I mean who hates fatty tuna?!  The problem with small, more authentic sushi is that it's not super filling.  For some reason, we got another waiter half way through our meal - a very nice and very knowledgeable older Japanese man.  He started telling us about that night's specials at that point, not sure why our first waitress didn't tell us about it.  This is where the night gets fuzzy - I'm pretty sure we each ordered a piece of uni, another spicy scallop roll and a fried oyster roll.  I usually steer away from any roll that has fried or tempura elements to it but this one was pretty darn delicious.  To be honest, we finally got full after these two rolls and probably didn't need both of them but they were both great. 

As I looked around, all the dishes that everyone got looked amazing.  All the cuts of fish looked luscious and wonderful.  Based on what I had and what I saw being served around me, I would definitely come back and try the omakase.  Total bill:  $100/pp with tax tip and drinks

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Pig Bleecker Visited 3/27/2017 4 Forks

Pig Bleecker  155 Bleecker St., New York, NY 10012

After the big success of the Pig Beach stand in Gowanus, the owners opened a permanent restaurant in the city.  The menu isn't quite as BBQ focused (which was a bit of a bummer) as I thought it would be but it is still very meat focused.  The decor and vibe is much more formal than the outdoor picnic setting in the Gowanus but it's not white table cloth fancy either.

Cicily and I started the meal with the meatballs ($11), shared the Brussels Sprouts ($9) and I decided on the 155 Steak ($28) while Cicily got the brisket ravioli ($24).   The restaurant is famous for their burger but since it was a double patty and I had just had a double patty burger at Salvation Burger, I just couldn't bring myself to consume another one so quickly.  The meatballs were moist and delicious - they were 3 fairly large sized meatballs served with smoked mozzarella.   We both commented how we could have easily eaten the entire appetizer on our own.  The steak was nicely cooked and already sliced for you.  It was similar to a filet and served with a side of mashed potatoes and beef cheek marmalade - there's nothing more comforting to me that a nice juicy steak with mashed potatoes and this did not disappoint.  Cicily mentioned that her ravioli was pretty good - as with any ravioli dish, there weren't a lot of them but since they were served with black truffle butter it probably didn't make sense to have too much of them.  The Brussels Sprouts were good - it was nice to have a side of greens with all the meat we were having.

Despite what people are saying on Yelp, our service was accommodating and attentive without being overbearing.   Overall the experience was pretty pleasant, although I probably would have liked it a bit more if it was more on the casual BBQ side because there aren't as many of those in the city but there are plenty of meat/steak places.  It's definitely a very solid meal and they had lovely cocktail menu, just don't go expecting it to be similar to the one in Gowanus.  Total bill:  $78/pp with tax, tip and cocktails

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Loring Place Visited 1/8/2017 3 Forks

Loring Place  21 West 8th St., New York, NY 10011

It's about time Dan Kluger got his own restaurant.  The famed chef of ABC Kitchen and ABC Cocina finally opened his own place in the West Village to much fanfare.  Unfortunately, it's located kind of on this terrible street in the city - W. 8th Street - the street I say where restaurants (and shops) go to die.  It's just not in a very prominent or visible street despite being close to both the West and Greenwich Village.  I don't know what it is with the location - maybe it's cursed?  The only time I could get was a 5:30pm reservation on a Sunday, which turned out to be fine because I could still get home early enough to chill and relax before the work week starts. 

The atmosphere was similar to ABC Kitchen but a bit dimmer and without all the ABC Carpet Store accents.  The menu is seasonal and local with a slight focus on vegetables but there are still plenty of meat and fish dishes to choose from, especially in the wood grilled section.  Our waiter was super nice but way overly attentive to the point where it was making me a little uncomfortable - it's like he would linger at our table for 1 or 2 minutes too long. But he did make several good recommendations such as the baked ricotta and the date pizza.  We decided to go with his recommendation and started with the baked ricotta ($11), the grilled broccoli ($13), the whole wheat pasta ($16) and the data pizza ($17).   We also got one additional vegetable dish but for the life of me I can't remember what it was...so clearly it wasn't that good!

The baked ricotta was served with roasted kabocha and grilled sourdough bread.  It was quite tasty and sweet but then again any kind of baked cheese served with warm and toasty bread is always a winner in my book.  Next we tried the grilled broccoli and to be honest, it was ok.  It served with orange, kohlrabi and a mint pistachio dressing.  It didn't have much of a wow factor and tasted just like how it was described - grilled broccoli which in it of itself is not that exciting.  Luckily the entrees were a bit better.  The whole wheat pasta was a simple pasta with spinach, parmesan, basil and chilies.  It was literally something I could make at home but (note to self - steal this recipe) but despite that it was a solid pasta dish - just not something I would necessarily go out and pay $16 for. 

Surprisingly the big winner of the night was the date pizza - the waiter was totally right about it.  I was a bit skeptical because I'm not a huge fan of dates but there was just something about the combination of sweet dates and melted mozzarella, bacon and radicchio that really worked all together.  It was a fantastic sweet and salty mixture that pleased the taste buds enormously.   I guess it's kind of like a deconstructed date wrapped in bacon but put in a pizza format.  

I was surprisingly stuffed at this point but we left some room for dessert and got the cookie box ($14).  A cookie box is never my first choice but Lav was super interested in getting it and some of the cookies like the mini black and white ones were quite lovely.  

I want to give a shout out on their cocktails - they are fantastic.  Smooth, sweet and very very easy to drink.  Very dangerous.  Overall, it was a a perfectly fine experience but definitely not on par with either ABC Kitchen or ABC Cocina.  It's not like the food sucked but it somehow was missing something that I can't put my finger on.  I wouldn't discourage someone from checking this place out (the date pizza is amazing) but don't go expecting the same caliber of his other joints.  Maybe it is the curse of being on W. 8th street.  Total bill:  $85/pp with tax, tip and drinks

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Hao Noodle and Tea by Madam Zhu's Kitchen Visited 1/7/2017 2.5 Forks

Hao Noodle and Tea by Madam Zhu's Kitchen   401 6th Ave., New York, NY 10014

This was my first great disappointment of 2017.  I had read a lot about this place and the menu looked incredible online but I left feeling so underwhelmed by my experience there.  It's a shame because the space itself is quite beautiful - it looks like a high end flower shop or Anthropologie - definitely not what you would think of in a Chinese restaurant. 

Despite it being a super snowy day, it was still really hard to get a reservation but there was a cancellation at 8:30 that I was able to snag on a Saturday.  As I mentioned, the space is lovely but very un-traditional.  The menu borders on authentic vs. super non-authentic.  It's got dishes like wood ear mushrooms, dan dan noodles and soup buns which are very traditional but then it's got other dishes like sweet and sour meatballs, sake marinated foie gras, and organic cauliflower with smoked ham that's very fusion-esque.  We opted to start with roasted vegetable with avocado ($16), the eight spice crispy tofu ($10), the dan dan noodles ($8), the mixed mushroom with black pepper noodles ($18) and I got the claypot dumplings ($12) based on the very enthusiastic recommendation of our waiter.  We also got a pot of tea because I mean it's a noodle and tea house and we already got the noodles, how could we not get tea too? 

The roasted vegetables and avocado and crispy tofu came out first.  It was basically a plate of roasted sweet potato and other root vegetables with slices of avocado and cilantro.  It was a perfectly fine dish but it was in no way Chinese at all.  I don't think Chinese people ever really use avocado in traditional cooking.  It felt like a dish I could get at any local farm to table place.  The crispy tofu was bits of soft tofu cubes lightly fried and tossed with five spice.  It was honestly a bit underwhelming - while it was easy enough to pop a bunch of these in your mouth at once, there wasn't anything super satisfying about them. 

Next came the clay pot dumplings that the waiter was really excited by.  Unfortunately since it had pork in it, I had to eat the whole dish myself which I normally wouldn't mind but this was actually a pretty hefty dish to eat on my own because there were so many dumplings and then a heap of noodles underneath.  I assumed that they would be regular dumplings with a nice thin wrapper but this was wrapped in a heavy egg crepe (which to be fair, was called out in the menu, I just didn't notice) that I honestly wasn't down with.  It felt like I was eating 5 mini omelets on my own.  I will say that the noodles and broth was delicious and the best part for the dish - I would have rather had just that without the dumplings.

Next came the dan dan noodles and holy shit was it spicy.  I know this dish is supposed to be spicy but this was to the point it was inedible.  We had to order a side of white rice to counter balance the insane chili oil spice that was covering the noodles.  I'm definitely not a puss when it comes to spicy food but this was just not doing it for me.  The noodles themselves were also not super impressive - they were thin and dry.  When eating dan dan or any kind of dry noodle dish, I prefer them to be thick and chewy.  Luckily the mushroom noodles that came next were not spicy at all, so we ended up mixing the two noodles together which made the dan dan much easier to digest.  But similar to the dan dan, the noodles for the mushroom noodles were thin and dry and not really tasty.  The mushroom mix was a combination of porcini, white and white beech mushrooms - none of which are particularly Chinese except for the last one.   Aarti was a fan of the mushroom mix but I wasn't really, it just didn't really wow me. 

The last thing I should note was the tea.  It was served in what must have been the world's smallest tea pot.  Seriously the waiter must have re-filled it about 10 times for us because it was so damn small.  In a legit Chinese place, you should get a giant tea pot that should last you several cups.  This may have held 1/2 a cup at most.  Well, at least the tea was good.

Overall, I was super bummed about this place.  It's physically beautiful and the menu has a lot of promise but it wasn't executed in a way that really impressed me.  If you're going to be traditional, then be traditional but don't try to mix it with what was essentially New American food.  If you want good Chinese comfort food, I'd recommend you skip out on this place and head over to Grand Sichuan.  Total bill:  $47/pp with tax and tip

Photo Credit:  Yelp 

Numero 28 Pizzeria Visited 11/6/2016 4 Forks

Numero 28 Pizzeria   28 Carmine St., New York, NY 10014

What better way to end a long day of marathon watching then to stuff your face with pizza, right? Granted I did zero running that day but trekking up to 110th street was enough activity for me to be tired by 5pm.  I have walked by this pizza place probably 1,000 times yet have somehow never been (this is why I love NYC - you can live here for years and still not even hit 25% of all the restaurants in the city).

It's a pretty small-ish mom and pop type place in the West Village and their pizzas are known for being huge but thin.  They are authentic Neapolitan pizza which means it's made in a brick oven pizza.  The classic type has buffalo mozzarella, basil and a sprinkle of olive oil on it.  We got a regular classic, regular veggie and one with sausage on it.  We also started with arugula salad which was simple yet delicious with shaved parm and cherry tomatoes on it.

The pizzas are a sight when they first come out because they are so long and take up the entire width of the table.  While it seems like a lot of food in the beginning, once you start eating the pizza you realize that you can easily house 3-4 slices because they are so thin and light.  The classic one was actually the best but the ingredients on the veggie one were great too - I love a good artichoke pizza. The meat was also great - I believe it was a soppressata meat and it wasn't too salty or greasy.

The only 2 things there were a bummer were (1) it's cash only and the ATM is in the bathroom (literally) and (2) the service is a bit eh.  They were nice enough but it wasn't a super warm and fuzzy feeling.  Also strangely enough for a fairly authentic Italian place, the wine selection wasn't all that. But overall, it's a nice casual, informal Italian joint and it's a nice reprieve from a classic New York slice or some of the crazy crowded hipster pizza places in BK.  Total bill:  it was kindly taken care of by someone else

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Ramen-Ya Visited 10/29/2016 3.5 Forks

Ramen-Ya   181 W 4th St., New York, NY 10014

It's late October, which means it's ramen season!  It's the perfect comfort food - warm, salty and filling.  Ramen-ya is located in the heart of the West Village, which means it's a tiny space.  There are probably 5 tables and then 6 seats at the bar.  I like how it's similar to SF ramen houses where you put your name on a list on a clipboard instead of telling the host.  That way it's easy to track where you are on the list without having to ask the host a million times how many people are in front of you.  

Since it's so tiny, its easier to get a table for 1 or 2, so they recommend that if you're a party of 3 or more to go to their sister restaurant on West 3rd street.  But there was only 2 parties in front of us, so we decided to wait it out.  The menu is pretty standard - you've got your pork broth ramen as their staple item, then they have some chicken broth ramen, and a pretty decent line up of vegetarian (or as the menu called it "vageterian) options as well.  We tried to get an order of veggie gyoza but they only had pork ones that night, which was a bummer.  I got the Shoyu ramen which was a soy sauce flavor broth with sliced pork, wood ear mushrooms, scallions and a soft egg.  It came with thin wavy noodles which were good and cooked to the right texture but after seeing the chewy noodles that Aarti and Mabel had with their veggie ramen, I was really craving a thicker noodle with mine.  I wasn't sure if I was really hungry or my bowl was smaller but I inhaled my dish in about 5 minutes. The sliced pork was a bit on the fatty side but the egg was cooked perfectly and the wood ear mushrooms was the right topping with the broth.  Strangely enough the veggie ramen looked a bit heartier than my pork one because it came with more toppings like corn, bean sprouts and bamboo shoots in addition to the mushroom and scallions.  I also drank pretty much all of my broth which was salty but not overwhelming salty which was nice.  While I know I could have put more toppings on my ramen to make it more filling, it was a bit surprising at how I was still hungry afterwards.  So to make up for it,  we ordered the green tea mochi ice cream - which were clearly the exact same ones you can get at Trader Joe's, which is actually fine because they're delicious but it's just funny when you realize how restaurants sometimes source for the same places you get your food.  

The service was a bit touch and go.  They weren't super attentive and we did have to hail them down for both the dessert and our check.  There are clearly so many other ramen options in the city but if you live in the 'hood and the line isn't too long, it's worth a stop by.  Total bill:  $21/pp with tax and tip

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Ladybird Visited 9/24/2016 3.5 Forks

Ladybird  127 Macdougal St., New York, NY 10012

This year has had a boon of veggie friendly/veggie forward restaurants from Nix to By Chloe.  You can now add Ladybird to that list.  It's a "globally inspired vegetable tapas bar" from the owner of Avant Garden in the old Bourgeois Pig space in the West Village. 

First off, the space is gorgeous.  It's got a French elegance feel to it and it's very glamorous yet approachable.  The only issue I had was that all the seats were high tops, so you're sitting on stools the entire time, which was kind of annoying and as I get older, just hurts my back.  The menu is actually not just vegetarian but vegan as well.  It's broken up into the front half with amuse bouches and cold plates and then the back half of warm plates.  They're all tapas style so definitely order 2-3 dishes per person because they are not very big in size.  We ordered the fried olives ($7), cauliflower ($6), saganaki ($9), coconut croqueta ($9), seared peach caprese ($12), artichoke hearts ($12) and the charred eggplant ($11).  I'm not a huge fan of olives so I didn't try it but it looked exactly like what you would think fried olives would look like.  The cauliflower was served on a bruschetta like bread with chive pesto, lemon ricotta, and chia.  It was a bit difficult to eat a hunk of cauliflower on a piece of bread and frankly, the dish probably would have been better without it sitting on it.  Flavor wise, it was nice and light and could have used a pinch more salt to it. 

I was intrigued as to how they would serve saganaki since the restaurant is vegan and the answer is soy cheese.  This dish was flamed "mozzarella" with smoked carrots and carrot green pesto.  While I respect and get the whole focus on not having any dairy, I gotta say that soy cheese just isn't an adequate substitute for real cheese - especially if you're going to light it on fire.  The next dish was the coconut croqueta which had bell pepper bechamel, orange romesco and jalapeño to it.  It was small enough to be just a quick bite but I really enjoyed this dish - it was creative with all the complex flavors but still worked.  Next was the seared peach "caprese" (again soy cheese) and burning sage. Again, I would like it a lot more if it was real cheese because something was just missing texture and taste wise.  The 2 favorite dishes of the night were the artichoke hearts and eggplant - two really hearty dishes.  The artichoke was sprinkled with sea salt and served with creme fraiche - simple yet delicious way to eat artichokes.  As for the eggplant, it was charred and served with sweet potato crisp, feta, apricot jalapeno, and sherry vinegar.  To me, it's hard to mess up charred eggplant because it soaks up so much flavor and yet still maintains the heartiness of the actual eggplant. 

Since it was Lav's birthday, we had to get dessert and the chocolate fondue ($24) won out.  It's kind of pricey for a chocolate dessert however, it's a huge serving, enough for 3 or 4 people.  They give you all kinds of sliced fruit, slices of cake and fried mochi to dip into the chocolate.  Luckily it was more of a dark chocolate and not an overly icky sweet milk chocolate, so it made it much more bearable for me.  

Ladybird is a beautiful restaurant and would be great on a date because it's got a really romantic feel. I'd come here for some wine, a few nibbles and dessert but probably not for a full blown dinner. While I enjoyed my experience here, I can't say I felt particularly full at the end of it which was kind of annoying.  Total bill:  ~$120 for 3 people with tax, tip and wine

Photo Credit:  Yelp